Went from a 235lb guy to an Ironman, keeping the journey going to stay fit.
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Saturday, July 11, 2009

Am I Ready for Ironman Canada

Seven weeks to go

I'm an analyst by nature. I analyze.

I don't trust my gut or emotions, I trust numbers and facts.

So here it goes: analysis of my Ironman readiness, by the numbers.

Swimming

How far they are making me go: 3800mHow long they give me to do it: 2h20The Pace: 3:38/100m

I have done 2000m a bunch of times now, including twice in a lake in a wetsuit. In my most recent race, I finished in 47:46, and that included a fairly long run to transition. That works out to 2:24/100m.

Fast? No. But quite a bit faster than I need to be on race day.

The last tri I did had a mass start. Around 500 people, it was a bit hectic. My strategy was to be nearer the back and to the outside - this worked well for me. I will do the same at Ironman Canada.

Strategy for the last few weeks: get out open water swimming at least 2-3 more times.

It's my weakness, no question, and I will absolutely be one of the weaker swimmers out there. But I feel I've done all I can to be ready, that cut-off time seems entirely reasonable.

BikingHow far they are making me go: 180 kmHow long they give me to do it: 8h00 (or more if swim is OK)The Pace: 22.5 km/h

I haven't gone that slow in many years... I don't go that slow on my mountain bike, on gravel and mud roads when the snow is still on the ground.

Confident? I'm downright cocky!

My pace in the 1/2 Iron Swim/Bike race I did last weekend was almost 31 km/h. I did a century ride (160km) in early June that went really well (my third time doing that distance) and have done a bunch of 100km rides as well.

Biking is my strength, and I feel great these days. I can't see anything outside of a mechanical problem standing between me at the cut-off time.

The bigger challenge will be holding back enough to run a marathon... I need to spend the vast majority of the 180k ride feeling comfortable.

Running

How far they are making me go: 42.2k (full marathon)How long they give me to do it: 6h30 (likely much more)The Pace: 9:00/km

Based on my actual goals, I should start the run with 8 hours in my pocket, not 6, but let's assume the worst.

Today I did a test: how fast can I walk a kilometer? I wanted to know if the worst case happened, could I get to the finish in time.

The answer: YES. I walked a kilometer at 8:20/km pace. I was walking pretty briskly, but if I can't even walk fast then I don't deserve to be called an Ironman!Am I Ready?

Yes.

I know it will be hard. I know things beyond my control can turn my months of preparation into a DNF in a hurry - a lot of people who start don't finish, and I'm sure many of them were prepared.

Say I've been looking into the 1200 and it looks like it is the previous trek model that corresponds to the 1.2 that I have. Have you done anything else to it except for the earo bars to outfit it for tri use?